The Stray
by Genius-626
Summary: Random two-shot. A cat follows Neo and Trinity home. Neo doesn't like cats that much, but it persists in following him. What will they do?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok, let's pretend that there are animals in Zion. I was petting my cat just now and wondered what it would be like if Neo had one. Random thought, I know, but its summer and my life depends on writing, so here you go.**

The Stray

Neo was just a step behind Trinity and Tank. They were walking home from dinner, the two ahead of him talking about something he didn't care much about at the moment. He was exhausted. They'd just docked two days ago and he was still getting used to Zion.

They reached Tank's room and said their goodbyes, but just as they started to walk away, Tank noticed something. He watched them walk for a few seconds, and then commented.

"Hey, Neo!" He raised his voice a little so that they could hear him. They turned. "I think someone's following you. Looks like a fan." He said this with slight amusement in his voice.

Neo looked around, expecting someone to come from nowhere to praise him, but no one came. His confusion was short lived as he felt a nudge on his leg. He looked down to see a black cat rubbing itself against him.

"A cat?" a new confusion ensued. Trinity looked at the cat and couldn't help but laugh.

"Looks like _cats_ even know you're the One." She said with a smile. Tank laughed at Neo's facial expression and closed the door, saying goodbye once more.

"How long has he been following us?" Neo asked as Trinity kneeled and picked it up. It looked content in her arms and started purring when she scratched the bottom of its chin.

"I don't know. There are quite a lot of strays in Zion." Trinity answered.

Neo just looked at her for a moment. The cat complemented her features in so many ways. It's hair was just as black as Trinity's, its body just as slender. It didn't have blue eyes, but when it looked at him, they matched her intensity. It was weird.

Trinity looked at him with a curious smile. "What?"

He blinked, processing the simplest question on the planet. "I just like looking at you, is there a problem with that?" he said, his tone a bit flirtatious.

She rolled her eyes, putting the cat down. He put his arm around her waist as they headed towards their apartment. A few steps later, Trinity glanced back to see the cat. At first it was standing where they left it, then it began to trot towards them. She whispered to Neo. "Don't look now, but your fan is in pursuit."

"_My_ fan?" Neo said. "It's following _you_. You were the one _loving it up_."

"Hmph. Either way, it looks pretty persistent. Maybe it's hungry."

"Maybe." He said as they reached their room. Trinity walked in, Neo following. The cat wanted in, but Neo blocked it with his foot. "Oh no, you don't."

Trinity came back with a bowl of some sort of milk substance. "Let him in, he won't bite."

"Easy for you to say."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means I don't like cats."

"And why not?" Trinity was very amused. She watched as Neo tried in vain to deflect the cat from coming inside with only his foot. The cat eventually outsmarted him and jumped over his ill coordinated boot.

Neo turned to Trinity then, defeated. "Well?" She was still waiting for an answer. He sighed as he stepped inside. Trinity closed the door behind her.

"I was a kid when I got my first pet. It was an orange cat." He started the story as he sat on their bed, the slender feline affectionately brushing its side against his leg once again. Trinity put the bowl just on the side of their bed and the cat hesitated. Neo continued.

"She hated me. She'd scratch me when I woke up every morning, then she'd meow at the top of her lungs when I wasn't in the same room. She was an outdoor cat, so whenever she caught a dead bird or rat, she'd put it on my pillow. She cost me a lot in pillow cases…"

Trinity couldn't help but smile at this ridiculous story. She listened as she watched the black cat inch slowly towards the bowl. It finally drank with obvious hunger.

"She was like no cat I'd ever known. Their supposed to be quiet and independent. This one was…filled with endless energy and never asleep! Never! Even after she died, cats were everywhere on the internet—"

"Neo," Trinity said, interrupting his lovely story, "That cat didn't hate you, it sounds like she really liked you."

After she said this, the black cat jumped onto Neo's lap and made itself comfortable, curling itself into a silky black ball of fur.

"Anyway, this cat's nothing like that one." She added.

Neo looked down and wondered why on earth this cat chose to follow him. He grimaced at the fur that had already begun to shed on his light gray sweat shirt. Trinity laughed once again at his expression, causing him to smile.

…

Neo was the first to wake up the next morning. Trinity was still in his arms, her back to him, sleeping peacefully. He brought her slightly closer to him and heard a faint "meow" in the result of his movement. He looked over his chest to find the black cat curled up on his feet, looking at him with bleary eyes.

Neo had forgotten about the cat. He turned to Trinity as she stirred and opened her eyes.

"Morning." She said groggily.

"Morning…" he said, kissing her cheek, then slowly looking back at the cat still perched on his feet. Trinity noticed this. "What?"

He again had to process the simplest of questions. "That cat's staring at me."

"You're staring at that cat." She countered. He ripped his eyes away from it and back at her.

"Now I'm staring at you." He said, stealing a kiss.

…

"Can you be ready to leave tomorrow?" Morpheus asked his small crew. They'd met for lunch and were sitting around a round table in the mess hall.

Tank loved his work more than ever now, so he nodded eagerly. Neo and Trinity on the other hand were not as thrilled. Not that they didn't love their jobs, but trips home were becoming less and less frequent and they liked their time alone. Either way, they agreed to their captain's request.

Neo casually took some food from his plate and leaned under the table, the obedient cat eating from his hand. Morpheus had already noticed the oddity that was the cat and was mildly confused. Tank noticed as well, unable to suppress a smile.

"That cat still following you?" Tank asked.

"Yeah, Trin let him in our room last night, now he won't leave."

"It looks like you've taken a liking to him." Trinity said slyly.

"Well, I can't let him starve." Neo tried to use an excuse. It didn't work.

"You'll have to leave it here you know." Morpheus said, watching as he took another handful under the table.

"Yeah, I know." Neo said, rather passively. Trinity just shook her head.

…

They were packing for their morning departure. The cat was standing on their bed, watching intently. Neo turned around to get another shirt from the drawer, but came back with the cat actually in his bag.

Trinity looked over and out her hand over her mouth, taken aback by the cuteness. It meowed and sunk further into the bag.

Neo couldn't escape the perfect moment for a terrible pun. "Looks like the cat's _in_ the bag."

Trinity flicked the back of her hand on his arm in playful disapproval. "That was bad."

"It had to be said." He replied simply. He scooped up the cat and nearly flung it across his shoulder. It held on and balanced itself.

Trinity's eyebrow furrowed. "What was that for?"

"I don't know, just messing around, wondering what he'd do." Neo answered. He went back to the drawer for something else as the cat kept perfectly in balance. Trinity couldn't help but find this absolutely ridiculous. Maybe this was why cats were so popular on the internet.

"So," Trinity began, "what should we name him?"

Neo zipped up his bag as the cat jumped down onto the bed. He wasn't sure what to call him. "I don't know. What do you like?"

Trinity thought a moment. "I don't know."

"You mean you don't pick out names?"

"Pick out names for random cats that show up from nowhere?"

"No, I mean, a lot of women usually have favorite names that they pick out for their future kids or something. You don't have any favorite names?"

"…Nope." She concluded. "Never thought about having kids."

"Really?" Neo asked, suddenly intrigued.

"No, have you?"

Neo paused for a second, thinking of an answer. He decided to be honest. "Yeah. Not a lot, but sometimes, you just wonder."

Trinity thought about that answer, knowing that she had wondered in the past, but never fully contemplated on being a mother. Before, she didn't think she'd be a good mother, but now, with Neo, maybe that could change.

The thought escaped her when she saw the cat rub itself against Neo's stomach.

"Again, with the cat hair." Neo said. He truthfully didn't like the cat hair. Trinity grinned.

"I don't know, I'm kind of jealous."

"Of me?"

"Of the cat."

The smile was automatic. She was clever. He loved it. Then again, he loved everything about her.

He looked down at this weird cat that had for some reason chosen him. The cat looked up at him, his eyes everything but blank. He somehow knew that this cat longed for a name and wanted them to get back to their previous subject. As much as he wanted to, he seriously had no idea what to call him.

"Maybe we'll think of a name tomorrow."

**So, yeah, there's my take on cats in Zion. Like it? Let me know :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So NeosNameisaSpoiler gave me the coolest cat name ever (thanks btw, cyber high five!), so I've decided to write another chapter. Enjoy the cat cuteness. **

The Stray

Neo woke up earlier than usual. They were suppose to leave that morning, so he thought he might be anxious or something. As he stretched his legs out, he was surprised not to feel the weight of the cat on his feet or hear its small "meow" from the disturbance in movement. He looked around, curious to where their cat had gone.

Their cat._ Hmph,_ he thought. _I actually got used to the thing. I guess he needs a name now._

As if the cat sensed his presence being sought, he leapt onto the bed and sat on Neo's shins. Why he found that comfortable, Neo would never understand. While Trinity lay asleep and with the cat contently perched, Neo thought of the possibility of a name.

_Well, he can't have a boring Matrix name, that'd be tacky. Should it be symbolic? Of what though? Maybe of his personality. Hmmm…maybe an anagram. _

Once the thought of an anagram crossed his mind, he remembered when Trinity had told him that his name was an anagram of "One." He was dumb struck because he hadn't noticed himself as well as kind of creeped out by of its inescapable irony.

_An anagram, huh?_

He thought for a few moments before Trinity woke up, seeing him awake. She saw the cat on his shins and sat up to pet him. His motorboat-like purring echoed through the room.

"Pet the cat before you kiss me good morning? I see how it is." Neo said, mocking a jealous tone.

She smiled, but didn't make a comeback. Taking her hand away from the cat, she leaned down and gently kissed her companion. She hovered slightly above him for a moment. "Happy?"

"Yeah." He said, dreamily.

"You think of a name yet?" she asked, sitting back up and resuming to pet their cat.

"Ofur." Neo replied as if that was a real name that made sense; like it was meant to be.

Trinity paused in slight confusion, thinking of how to react to his quick and confident answer. The cat rubbed his head on her hand, silently telling her to keep petting him.

"And when did you think of that?" she finally said.

"Right now."

"What exactly does it mean?"

"It's an anagram." Neo wanted her to figure it out, she was smart.

Trinity sensed this and leaned back, thinking. "How do you spell it? O-F-U-R?" she asked. Neo nodded. "Four?" she guessed quickly, that being the only word she could make from those letters. He nodded again. "Four, huh? Is it supposed to mean anything?"

"Yeah, it's kind of symbolic. Think about it." Neo said as he also sat up, the cat having moved himself onto his lap, awaiting more love. Neo complied and scratched under his chin. The purring commenced.

Trinity was almost stumped. _Four? How is that symbolic? _She tried to think like Neo._ What would Neo name a pet? What would Neo consider symbolic? Let's back up here. What would he think about normally? Well, he'd probably be thinking about me._ Then it hit her. Trinity=3. Neo=One=1.

1+3=4

Trinity punched his arm once she figured it out. "That's the cheesiest, most ridiculous…" she sighed, looking at Neo's smiling face. "…most thoughtful name I've ever heard. I'm surprised you were smart enough to come up with it."

"Thanks—wait!" Neo said, picking up her insult. The cat sensed his motives and dashed off the bed before Neo lunged at Trinity playfully. She looked back at the cat, the fur of his tail on end in surprise.

"He'll have to be careful if he tries to sleep with us _every_ night." She said.

"He'll get used to it." Neo said, turning his complete attention to her. He claimed her lips in a loving passion, not knowing how long they'd be without this level of privacy.

…

They were walking to the dock when a thought came across Trinity's consciousness. " What'll we do with Ofur?" she asked.

Neo had apparently been day dreaming as he looked at her and asked her to repeat the question.

"Ofur. He can't stay in our apartment alone. But we can't just have him wonder around Zion, can we?"

"Sure we can." Neo said, looking at the floor between them, Ofur keeping up with them nicely. "He was a stray before he came to us. He'll have to get used to it anyway. We'll always be gone a lot."

"Yeah, I know." Trinity said, a bit uneasy. "I just think, if he's our cat, he shouldn't be going around begging for food, you know?"

Neo gave a light sigh. "Yeah, I know. Next time we'll find someone to take care of him, Ok?"

Trinity nodded, content with waiting for next time.

They were walking down the stairs, avoiding the crowded elevator. They were almost at the bottom when Trinity spoke again. "Guess we should wait until after the war to have kids, huh?"

Neo looked at her in surprise. He couldn't tell by her tone whether she was being funny or serious. He tried to sound as if he knew where she was going with this, but it failed. "Why?"

"We'd have to leave them with someone else every time we left. That'd be bad for all of us."

"Right." He said, a bit embarrassed for not figuring that out on his own. "…You said you never thought about having kids."

"I didn't." she said, giving him a sly, yet warm smile. He felt her warmth even though they weren't touching. Just thinking about having that kind of future with Trinity was too much for him to comprehend; too much to possibly ask for. She was so genuine it was astonishing sometimes. How could _she_ be in love with _him_? It seemed too good to be true, and god, it felt amazing how true it was.

They reached the dock and saw Morpheus just ahead of them. When they met up with Morpheus, he looked down to see the black cat between them.

"That cat probably won't be safe on the docks." Morpheus commented. Truth be told, he was probably right.

"He'll find his way back." Neo reassured him. "That is, if he doesn't try to follow us in."

Just as Neo had predicted, Ofur tried to board the Neb. Morpheus didn't have time for this, (although he did find it extremely cute). He picked up the cat, walked off the ramp and handed him to a nearby security guard. He looked back at the couple who had turned and walked into the ship.

"Guard this with your life." He said to the confused guard. "It belongs to the One."

And with that, the guard nodded and knew his task. The look in his eyes guaranteed Morpheus that he would not fail.

…

Two weeks later, the Neb returned with one new citizen of Zion. Her name was Zandra. She was a shy girl, age 15. She wasn't a hacker, but a blogger. She blogged about her life, which was sad and quite eventful. She had many followers who liked her angst writing, but never her true writing. She wrote about the fragile existence of life and the importance of her philosophies, strange for a girl of her age. They only needed to watch her for a few days to decide that she needed out of the Matrix.

When she regained consciousness, she seemed accepting of her surroundings, although her inward retreat was worrying. She didn't have her long bleach blond hair to hide under anymore, so she dared to look them in the eyes. They saw her pain.

When they arrived home to Zion, Neo and Trinity expected to find Ofur later that day, maybe waiting outside their apartment. They were surprised to find him trotting towards them in front of a security guard. The guard went to Morpheus, who was with Zandra.

"That cat wouldn't leave the dock, sir." He informed Morpheus, pointing to Ofur who was now in Trinity's arms.

Morpheus smiled. "So what? He roamed the docks?"

"No, I kept him in the control room throughout the day, then let him out at night. All he did was look out the window and wait for the Neb. That cat is really loyal."

Zandra looked past the guard and watched Neo and Trinity. She admired them because of their abilities in the Matrix and had watched them on the Neb. They were inseparable as well as highly professional. They intimidated her a little, but seeing them with this cat put her a little more at ease.

Morpheus noticed this and simply nudged her in the direction of the two. She didn't look back at him, but felt like a baby eagle being pushed out of her nest. She walked towards them. Ofur was now on the floor. His eyes darted to her and she froze. Ofur then trotted to her and rubbed himself lovingly against her leg. She was speechless.

"He likes being held." Trinity told her.

She looked up, almost in embarrassment, but when she saw their eyes, she knew she didn't have to be afraid anymore. She slowly bent down and took the cat in her arms, feeling his purr against her chest. Looking back up at Neo and Trinity she knew now that Zion would be a new and wonderful beginning.

**Ok guys, that's it for now. And if you couldn't already tell, I love cats X3**

**Thanks again NeosNameisaSpoiler for the great idea**

**And if you were wondering (which I know for a fact that you weren't) I did use the name "Zandra" in another fic, intending to make her an OC for "Evolution of the One," my now 13 chapter Matrix fic, but I decided that I had too many OC's in that story anyway, so I dropped it. **


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